About

Prof Ciara Meehan BA, PhD, SFHEA

Prof Ciara Meehan is Dean of Students at University of Galway. 

A graduate of UCD (BA, 2003 and PhD, 2007), Ciara worked there for six years before relocating to the University of Hertfordshire in 2013. During her ten years at Hertfordshire, she served as Head of History and Heritage Studies and Associate Dean of the School of Humanities, later the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Education, and she was also a Reader in History. 

She has published extensively on the transformation of independent Ireland. Her major works include The Cosgrave Party: a History of Cumann na nGaedheal, 1923-1933 (2010), A Just Society for Ireland? 1964-1987 (2013) and Saving the State: Fine Gael from Collins to Varadkar (2020), which she co-wrote with political journalist Stephen Collins. Most recently she authored, A Woman’s Place? Challenging Values in 1960s Irish Women’s Magazines (2023).

Her work has received considerable external recognition, and she has been funded by the Irish Research Council, the AHRC, and other bodies. Her research has also attracted significant media interest, and she appears fairly regularly in Irish print and broadcast media.

Her commitment to excellence in learning and teaching was acknowledged in her successful application to become a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2014, and in her advancement to Senior Fellow in 2018. The latter recognises effective and significant impact on students in a sphere of influence wider than her own classroom.   

Get in touch via email: ciara.meehan@universityofgalway.ie

Postal Address: Prof Ciara Meehan, Office of the Dean of Students, University of Galway, H91 TK33.